Fox News host Charles Payne on Sunday said that liberals were wrong not to treat Navy SEAL Chris Kyle as a hero because the U.S. had used snipers and other types of military force to “save the planet” and lift a billion people out of poverty.

In a segment on Sunday, the hosts of Fox & Friends lashed out at former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) after he recently said that there was “a lot of intersection” between the Tea Party and the people who went to see “American Sniper” because they were “very angry.”

“Damn right, we’re angry,” Fox News host Anna Kooiman quipped, adding that filmmaker Michael Moore had asked on Saturday if hiding “on top of a roof” shooting people in the back was what Jesus would do.

“Chris Kyle was protecting a bunch of Marines,” Kooiman explained.

“It’s just funny, though, Michael Moore is now this theologian, citing Jesus in every public statement,” co-host Tucker Carlson opined. “I don’t remember him citing Jesus on abortion or gay marriage, do you? It’s so funny, the Christian Left gets almost no publicity, but, boy, are they annoying.”

“Yeah, also known as atheists,” Payne agreed. “When Michael Moore and these guys make these kinds of comments, it takes it completely out of context. It’s a pretty simple thing, you watch the movie, he saved American lives. And he went through a tough struggle to do it, but it was a job that had to be done.”

“Look at the death toll that we had protecting people in a different country because that’s what America does,” he continued. “We’ve been the world’s policeman, and guess what’s happened over the time we’ve become the world’s policeman. A billion people in other countries have moved into the middle class.”

“We had India on TV earlier. If it wasn’t for Americans dying around the world, the rest of the world would be in abject poverty. We have saved the planet, and if we go away as [the world’s] policeman, it’s going to be hell to pay for everyone.”

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.